Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sixers Came Close To Trading For Andre Drummond

February 16th, 2024 at 9:08am CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers thought they had a trade in place to acquire center Andre Drummond from the Bulls prior to last Thursday’s deadline, but Chicago pulled out of those talks hours before the deadline, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

League sources tell Scotto that Chicago had been seeking three second-round picks in exchange for the veteran center. It’s not clear if Philadelphia was unwilling to meet that asking price or if the Sixers’ offer wasn’t to the Bulls’ liking for another reason (such as perhaps the perceived quality of the second-rounders or a requirement that Chicago take back an unwanted contract in return).

The Celtics and Mavericks also made offers for Drummond, per Scotto, but ultimately went in different directions at center, with Boston trading for Xavier Tillman and Dallas landing Daniel Gafford. The Lakers, Suns, and Rockets were among the other clubs to express interest in the big man, sources tell HoopsHype.

Drummond, who is on an expiring $3.36MM contract, was considered the Bulls’ top trade candidate leading up to the deadline after Zach LaVine underwent season-ending foot surgery. The 30-year-old has averaged 8.1 points and 8.6 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game across 55 appearance (nine starts) this season, and Chicago has posted a better net rating when he’s on the court than when he isn’t.

In the end, the Bulls stood pat at the trade deadline for a third consecutive year, while the Sixers are believed to still be on the lookout for a center to provide depth up front during Joel Embiid‘s injury absence.

Buyout Market Rumors: Fournier, Wright, Bertans, Young, Gallinari

February 16th, 2024 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

After spending the better part of the last two seasons on the bench in New York, Evan Fournier was traded from the Knicks to the Pistons as a salary-matching piece in the deadline-day deal that sent Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks out of Detroit. Given that Fournier isn’t owed any guaranteed money beyond this season and the Pistons have the NBA’s worst record, he has been viewed as a buyout candidate.

However, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Pistons have indicated that they plan to hang onto Fournier, so barring an unexpected development, he won’t reach the buyout market in the coming days or weeks.

Fournier, who appeared in just three games for the Knicks prior to last week’s trade, has logged over 25 minutes per night in his first two games as a Piston, averaging 11.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals.

Here are a few more notes and rumors on the buyout market from Scotto:

After averaging about 15 minutes per contest in his first 29 appearances in Washington this season, Delon Wright hasn’t played more than seven minutes in any of the four games since the trade deadline. A number of playoff contenders, including the Suns, are keeping on eye on the situation to see if the Wizards guard – who is on an expiring contact – will be bought out, Scotto writes.
Veteran sharpshooter Davis Bertans has played double-digit minutes off the bench in each of his first three games with the Hornets and appears unlikely to be let go in the immediate future, per Scotto. Bertans’ $16MM salary for 2024/25 is partially guaranteed for $5.25MM next season, which is one reason why Charlotte may wait until the summer to make any move involving him.
Thaddeus Young is expected to complete his deal with the Suns after the All-Star break next week, says Scotto, adding that the veteran forward also drew interest from the Sixers, Pelicans, and Celtics before agreeing to sign in Phoenix.
Although the Suns had interest in Danilo Gallinari, they were out of the mix for the forward after agreeing to sign Young, Scotto notes. Since the Cavaliers couldn’t guarantee Gallinari the kind of role he sought and the Bulls aren’t a legitimate title contender, Gallinari’s decision ultimately came down to the Clippers and Bucks. He chose Milwaukee after debating the two options for a few days, according to Scotto.

Saben Lee Delivers After Booker's Ejection

February 15th, 2024 at 5:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Following Booker’s first-quarter ejection against Detroit on Wednesday, Suns two-way player Saben Lee stepped in and contributed 16 points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists in 24 minutes against one of his former teams. It was easily his most impactful outing this season, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic notes. “He’s an elite athlete. He can really touch the paint at will and he makes good decisions when he gets there,” coach Frank Vogel said. “Very shifty. He’s got great ability to draw fouls, sweet moves and shot fakes and those types of things. He’s a hell of a guy to have in that situation to come in and give us that spark.”

And-Ones: 2024 Offseason, Vegas, Mudiay, Forbes, More

February 15th, 2024 at 7:57am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA had a busy trade deadline, but there were no blockbuster deals completed last week, with role players like Buddy Hield, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Gordon Hayward among the biggest names who were on the move. However, according to Howard Beck of The Ringer, executives around the league are expecting more fireworks during the 2024 offseason.

“There will be a lot of parts moved this offseason,” one Eastern Conference executive told Beck. “There’s going to be some options, some high-level guys that ask to get moved.”

As Beck writes, this spring’s playoff results could have a significant impact on what the trade market looks like this offseason. If a team with expectations of a deep playoff run gets bounced early, rival executives will be watching closely to see if that team’s stars have a wandering eye. The Lakers (LeBron James), Suns (Kevin Durant), and Cavaliers (Donovan Mitchell) are among the examples Beck provides, with one exec predicting that “there’s no doubt” Mitchell leaves Cleveland at the end of his current contract in 2025.

There will also be franchises with increasingly expensive rosters who may begin to feel pressure to make a move to generate more financial flexibility or to avoid committing to a pricey luxury tax bill, Beck notes, identifying the Celtics, Timberwolves, and Pelicans as some of the teams that rivals will be monitoring.

Beck is also the latest reporter to say that executives around the NBA believe Trae Young‘s name will pop up in trade rumors this offseason. One Western Conference exec told Beck, “I think they would love to trade Trae,” while another said the Hawks discussed a potential Young deal with the Spurs prior to last Thursday’s deadline.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Appearing on ESPN on Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver once again stated that Las Vegas is “definitely on our list” of markets that will receive consideration for the next round of expansion, according to The Associated Press. “We want to figure out what our media relationships are going to look like but then we will turn to expansion,” Silver said.
Former NBA lottery pick Emmanuel Mudiay has signed with Piratas de Quebradillas, according to an Instagram post from the Puerto Rican team. Mudiay, who also played in Puerto Rico’s BSN league last season for Cangrejeros de Santurce, was the seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft and has appeared in over 300 NBA games, most recently with Sacramento in 2021/22.
Former NBA sharpshooter Bryn Forbes has been arrested on a family violence charge, per an Associated Press report. Forbes, who was also arrested last February following a domestic incident, was jailed on Tuesday in San Antonio on a charge of assaulting a family member by choking/strangulation, which is considered a third-degree felony. The 30-year-old hasn’t been in the NBA since he was waived by Minnesota a year ago.
With G League Ignite prospect Ron Holland unable to participate in All-Star weekend due to a thumb injury, the NBA has announced that Cavaliers two-way forward Emoni Bates will replace him in the Rising Stars game (press release) and that Bulls two-way center Adama Sanogo will take his place in the G League Up Next game (Twitter link).

Pistons’ Stewart Arrested For Punching Suns’ Eubanks Before Wednesday’s Game

February 15th, 2024 at 7:00am CST by Rory Maher

FEBRUARY 15, 7:00am: Stewart was arrested by Phoenix police for assault, according to Mark McClune of KTVK 3TV (Twitter link), who says the Pistons big man was issued a citation and was released. The police investigation into the incident remains active.

Meanwhile, Pistons head coach Monty Williams said after Wednesday’s game that the Suns’ statement on the incident was “irresponsible” (Twitter link via Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press).

“I know Phoenix came out and said it was unprovoked. I think it’s irresponsible,” Williams said. “… Until you find out everything, you can’t make those statements. I heard about that, and that did not need to happen.”

FEBRUARY 14, 7:55pm: The Suns have released a statement regarding the incident, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link). “The attack on Drew Eubanks was unprovoked, and acts of violence such as this are unacceptable. We unequivocally support Drew, and will continue to work with local law enforcement and the NBA.”

A league spokesperson confirmed the NBA will review the altercation, Rankin adds (via Twitter).

FEBRUARY 14, 7:10pm: Prior to Wednesday’s game in Phoenix, Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart punched Suns center Drew Eubanks in the face, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The NBA is expected to review footage of the incident, Charania adds.

According to Charania and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, it’s unclear what initiated the incident, but evidently the two big men were “chest-to-chest” before Stewart landed a punch near Eubanks’ lip. Police separated the two players and “inspected the scene,” per The Athletic’s report.

Speaking to reporters pregame, Eubanks confirmed he was hit, as Gerald Bouguet of PHNX Sports relays (All Twitter links). Phoenix’s backup center said he’d just arrived to the arena and was in street clothes when the incident occurred, adding that he had never been involved in any other off-court altercations with Stewart.

“Words were said, I got sucker punched, and security intervened. … Clearly you can see what he does, how he acts on the court, so it wasn’t surprising,” Eubanks said.

Eubanks added that he was fine and will be playing tonight vs. Detroit, while Stewart is inactive with an ankle sprain.

Wednesday will mark Stewart’s eighth straight absence due to the injury, with his last appearance coming January 28. As Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press tweets, Stewart had been slated to return to action immediately after the All-Star break, but that return could be postponed if he’s suspended, which seems very likely.

According to Sankofa (Twitter link), the Pistons had no comment on the altercation as of 7:15 pm CT.

In November 2021, Stewart was suspended for two games without pay “for escalating an on-court altercation by repeatedly and aggressively” pursuing LeBron James, who received a one-game suspension for “recklessly hitting Stewart in the face” and initiating the incident. Both players were ejected — Stewart received two technical fouls and James received a Flagrant 2 foul. The video of that incident can be found here.

Central Notes: Stewart, Eubanks, C. Porter, Dosunmu, Terry

February 14th, 2024 at 10:40pm CST by Rory Maher

During Wednesday’s game vs. Phoenix, the Pistons released a statement regarding the pregame incident between forward/center Isaiah Stewart and Suns center Drew Eubanks.

“We are aware of the incident between Isaiah Stewart and Drew Eubanks prior to this evening’s game. We are in the process of gathering information about what happened and what provoked it, and responding to the NBA and local authorities.”

Eubanks was punched in the face by Stewart after arriving at the Footprint Center. He said he was OK and called it a “soft punch,” per Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. Eubanks played in the game, while Stewart remains sidelined with a sprained ankle.

Here’s more from the Central:

Craig Porter Jr.‘s new four-year contract with the Cavaliers will pay him a guaranteed $1.5MM in 2023/24, nearly tripling the salary of his old two-way deal, reports ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter). Porter’s base salary for ’24/25 is $1.9MM, with $1MM in guaranteed money. However, years three ($2.2MM) and four ($2.4MM) are fully non-guaranteed, with no special trigger dates beyond the league-wide guarantee date of January 7. The final season — ’26/27 — is a team option, Marks adds.
Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu had a stellar performance in Tuesday’s win over Atlanta, scoring a career-high 29 points (on 12-of-18 shooting, including 5-of-7 from three) and dishing out seven assists while playing terrific defense on Trae Young, who finished just 3-of-14 from the field, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Dosumnu has become a much more consistent offensive threat of late, averaging 15.9 PPG on .592/.525/.773 shooting over in the 14 games (32.3 MPG) leading up to Wednesday’s loss to Cleveland. “He’s got incredible stamina and endurance,” head coach Billy Donovan said, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “It’s a skill. [Udonis] Haslem had it. Joakim [Noah] had it. The more fatigued and tired they get, the more stubborn they get and the more competitive and the more they push. He’s got that in him. He can keep his motor running high. For him to do what he did offensively and then to play the defense he did was a pretty remarkable performance with the number of minutes he got.”
Second-year wing Dalen Terry has received rotation minutes for the Bulls in 2023/24 due to injuries to Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams and Torrey Craig (Craig has since returned), and while his performances have been uneven, he says the speed of the NBA game is starting to slow down for him, Johnson writes for NBC Sports Chicago. “This season I feel I improved a lot on my discipline, just realizing that sometimes my fouling gets me out of the game,” Terry said. “My confidence level is just so much different than it was last year. … My rookie year, sometimes I was out there and I was like, ‘Man, everything is going so fast.’ It just happened. Now I can see stuff happen before it happens. That’s been the easiest part to me.” Terry, 21, was the 18th pick of the 2022 draft.

Warriors To Explore Trades For Star Wing In Offseason?

February 14th, 2024 at 5:57pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors sources confirm to Sam Amick, Anthony Slater and Jovan Buha of The Athletic that Golden State made an unsuccessful run at Lakers superstar LeBron James prior to last week’s trade deadline. However, there’s “zero indication” the Warriors came close to acquiring James, per The Athletic’s report.

Still, the fact that Golden State tried to pry James out of L.A. shows the Warriors are willing to take big swings to try and capitalize on Stephen Curry‘s still-excellent form, despite his advancing age (he turns 36 next month). And it opened the door to a possible pursuit again this summer, when James could hit unrestricted free agency if he declines his $51.4MM player option.

According to The Athletic, James won’t be the only marquee player the Warriors will explore going after, assuming they’re even available. Their “dream scenario” would be trading for Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, with Clippers wing Paul George and Suns forward Kevin Durant among the other star wings on their wish list.

Antetokounmpo has only ever played for Milwaukee and signed a long-term extension before the season began that has him under contract through at least 2027, with a player option for 2027/28. George holds a $48.8MM player option for ’24/25 and has openly said he hopes to sign an extension with the Clippers (he’d have to decline the PO to sign an extension). Durant, who won back-to-back titles with Golden State in 2017 and 2018, could hit free agency in 2026.

The emergence of Jonathan Kuminga — whom GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. called “virtually” untouchable after the deadline — has given the Warriors an internal pathway to a possible star running mate for Curry. He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer. Depending on what route Golden State takes, Kuminga could also be an enticing headliner in a blockbuster trade, The Athletic’s authors note.

As Amick, Slater and Buha write, only one of the Warriors’ future first-round picks (2030) is tied up in a trade beyond this year’s draft, and the team will have some financial flexibility as well, with Klay Thompson on an expiring $43.2MM contract and Chris Paul on a pseudo-expiring deal (his $30MM salary for ’24/25 is non-guaranteed).

Suns Notes: Ishbia, Beal, Nurkic, Durant, Booker

February 14th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Suns owner Mat Ishbia said at the start of October that he felt Phoenix had the best team in the NBA. While injuries slowed down the Suns early in the season, they’ve won 13 of their last 17 games to move up to the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference at 32-22. Ishbia tells Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic that he feels just as good about the roster now as he did in October, especially after the trade-deadline additions of Royce O’Neale and David Roddy.

“We have our three star players and we also have a lot of other players who could be considered stars as well. We have a great all-around team. I love our team. I feel excited about what’s going on,” Ishbia said. “… We’re jelling. We’re playing our best basketball right now. Just because we had the best to start the season or felt like we had the best roster, doesn’t mean you can’t improve it. So we’re always going to try to improve things and that’s what we did I think with the addition of Royce and David.”

As Bobby Marks of ESPN observed after the trade deadline, 10 teams projected to be taxpayers a month ago and nine of those clubs either reduced their salaries or stood pat through the deadline. The Suns, who increased their projected tax bill by more than $13MM, were the only one of those 10 teams to add money.

“When we come to Mat with ideas and suggestions on saying, ‘Hey, let’s go trade for Royce O’Neale and David Roddy, but it’s going to add a significant amount of money to our tax bill and to this team,’ he says, ‘Hey, if it’s going to make us better, and the answer is yes, then let’s go do it,'” Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein told Rankin. “Many people don’t do that, especially at the trade deadline. You saw several teams shed money. We’re all in to win a championship and when you have an owner willing to do that and use any resource possible, it makes your job easier. You can go after the best players no matter where their salaries are at.”

Here’s more on the Suns:

After Bradley Beal strained his left hamstring in Tuesday’s win over Sacramento, the Suns have ruled him out for their final game before the All-Star break on Wednesday vs. Detroit. There’s optimism it won’t be a long-term issue though, Rankin writes for The Arizona Republic. “They don’t think it’s too serious,” head coach Frank Vogel said. “Hopefully with the (All-Star) break right after, he doesn’t miss too much more time. We’ll see where he’s at.”
In the latest episode of his podcast, Warriors forward Draymond Green ripped Suns center Jusuf Nurkic for his comments to reporters following Phoenix’s loss to Golden State on Saturday. “The little guy went into the media complaining like I did something to him as if he didn’t do the ‘too small’ celebration and then he starts to question my character,” Green said (hat tip to Rankin). “What a coward. You go questioning character about a basketball game you just lost that you got destroyed in. The only thing you should talk about his how you got punished.” Nurkic tweeted a reply accompanied by a crying-laughing emoji: “All good bad boy just don’t stay to long on podcast, gonna be late for therapy session.”
Sources who spoke to Rankin disputed ESPN’s report stating that Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey inquired on Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Beal prior to last Thursday’s trade deadline. Whether or not it happened ultimately doesn’t matter that much, since all three players were considered unavailable and remained in Phoenix.
In case you missed it, the Suns officially announced today that they’ll have a G League affiliate of their own beginning in 2024/25. Phoenix is the final NBA team to secure an NBAGL affiliate.

Suns To Become 30th NBA Team With G League Affiliate

February 14th, 2024 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have announced in a press release that they’ve acquired the right to own and operate a G League team, which will debut in 2024/25.

Phoenix had been the only NBA team without an NBAGL affiliate, so barring an unexpected development, all 30 NBA clubs will be affiliated with a G League team beginning next season. The league, which also features the unaffiliated G League Ignite and Mexico City Capitanes, will feature a total of 32 franchises in ’24/25.

Suns owner Mat Ishbia stated after he took over majority control of the team a year ago that establishing a G League affiliate was a priority and formally announced last July that he intended to do just that. Today’s announcement confirms that the Suns are officially moving forward with that plan and are on track to have the team begin competing this fall.

“Bringing a G League team to Phoenix was one of my first priorities as owner,” Ishbia said today in a statement. “Adding a G League team creates another area for us to compete to be the best and will be a vital tool to help develop players and coaches. Just like the Suns and Mercury, our G League team will serve as a community asset and make a positive impact on and off the court.”

The Suns’ new G League team will play its home games in the Phoenix metro area, but more details beyond that aren’t yet known. Announcements on the venue, team name, and logo, will come in the spring, with a contest being held during the next two weeks giving fans an opportunity to name the franchise.

“To get the team going as quickly as we are, we’re probably going to have to find some temporary,” Ishbia told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “The plan is to have an arena and place and a venue for the G League team to play. We plan on it being close enough to our current place that players aren’t driving four hours like I think a lot of other teams have set up.”

Phoenix actually had a G League affiliate known as the Northern Arizona Suns from 2016-21, but former team owner Robert Sarver sold the franchise to the Pistons, who relocated it to Michigan and rebranded it as the Motor City Cruise.

As a result, the Suns haven’t had a G League team for the past three seasons, meaning any player they want to send to the NBAGL has had to report to another NBA club’s affiliate. That will no longer be the case beginning this fall.

Warriors Attempted To Get Lakers To Consider LeBron Trade

February 14th, 2024 at 7:21am CST by Luke Adams

Prior to last Thursday’s trade deadline, the Warriors tried – unsuccessfully – to convince the Lakers to consider sending superstar forward LeBron James to Golden State, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne.

The Warriors’ pursuit of James occurred at multiple levels, per ESPN’s reporting. Klutch Sports client Draymond Green contacted agent Rich Paul in an effort to solicit his help getting LeBron on board with a move to Golden State, while Warriors owner Joe Lacob reached out to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. touched base with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka.

Ultimately, the same answer came back from all involved parties — the Lakers had no interest in trading James, and the four-time MVP had no interest in going anywhere, as Paul stated six days ahead of the deadline.

As Wojnarowski and Shelburne outline, the Warriors’ pursuit stemmed from the fact that James seemed to be frustrated by the Lakers’ up-and-down first half. He hinted at those frustrations in some comments to the media and posted a cryptic tweet consisting only of hourglass emoji.

When Lacob reached out to Buss, she told the Warriors owner that while she had no interest in trading LeBron, that she would check in with him and Paul to gauge their thoughts.

Sources tell ESPN that Buss has “operated with the mindset that she wants her star players content with the franchise,” so if he had been unhappy with his situation in Los Angeles, the team would have been open to changing its stance. That wasn’t the case, however, as Paul told both Lacob and Dunleavy that his top client wanted to remain a Laker.

ESPN’s report doesn’t include any details about the package the Warriors would have offered for James, but since the goal was to pair him with Stephen Curry and Green was involved in the recruiting, we can at least safely assume those two wouldn’t have been on the table. Beyond that, there are many permutations Golden State could have explored — an offer involving Chris Paul and/or Andrew Wiggins, plus prospects and draft picks, seems most likely, given that the Dubs reportedly weren’t interested in moving Klay Thompson.

According to Wojnarowski and Shelburne, the Warriors weren’t the only team to check in on James prior to the trade deadline. Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey also inquired on LeBron’s availability, though that’s a common practice for Morey, who also contacted the Suns to ask about Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and/or Bradley Beal, per ESPN.

As ESPN’s duo explains, the Warriors situation was a little different because it began at the ownership level and included a conversation with Paul, whereas Morey is known around the league for making “bold” long-shot trade inquiries. When Morey asked the Lakers about LeBron, Pelinka responded by inquiring about the availability of reigning MVP Joel Embiid, which ended their brief conversation, sources tell Woj and Shelburne.

James will have a decision to make this summer on a 2024/25 player option worth $51.4MM. While he’s considered likely to either pick up that option or sign a new deal with the Lakers, suitors like the Warriors and Sixers may get a chance to pursue him again at that time.